Stormy Seas Ahead
by Dracostolemyknickers
Summary: The second war of wizards is over, and many have gone back to properly finish their seventh year of school. This includes the Golden Trio, and the children of the nefarious Death Eaters. But, also a new girl, Anesidora Nyx, who harbors more than one dangerous secret. Is Hogwarts really safe after the death of Voldemort, or is there more to this tale than the prophesy foretold?


The second wizard war was finally over, and it was finally safe for her to reveal herself again. She had stayed hidden away from the wizarding world since news of Harry's return many years ago when he found the philosopher's stone. She craved to be around people back then, and as she grew older had attempted many times to sneak away from her home and travel to London in search of other wizards. She was a rebellious child, and her guardian certainly had his hands full. But with Voldemort dead and the death eaters either killed or locked away in Azkaban it was finally time for her to learn to be around other wizards and witches and learn to become a great witch herself. She was waiting outside the door to the Great Hall, listening to be called in. Headmistress McGonagall had allowed her to wait outside the doors, as she was now anxious around new people. She wasn't the same as she was when she was younger. She knew nothing about how to interact with others, and that made her nervous. She was waiting for the new first years to be sorted, then the headmistress would briefly explain her situation to the students before she herself was sorted into a house. She was so nervous she couldn't stop her hands from shaking when the Headmistress called her in. "This year we welcome a bright new student with a very... peculiar situation. She may explain more to you if she likes, but I will simply say that she has been in hiding for most of her life." She was still at the very back of the room, and not a single student had turned to notice her yet. But she wasn't that lucky for long. "Do not be afraid dear, please, come forward." Every set of eyes in the room turned to stare at her as she slowly started to walk to the front of the room. She hadn't been given a set of robes or a school uniform yet due to her late enrollment at the school, so she wore a simple black skirt that stopped just above her knees and a black dress shirt that was buttoned enough to cover her cleavage and conformed to her modest curves. "As I was saying, this young lady has been in danger most of her life, and as such she has been secretly trained by her trusted guardian. Due to this, this will be her first and last year of schooling with us, even though she is not yet of age." This caused many gasps, and a few kids yelled that it wasn't fair. Others were still making unsavory glances at her while pretending to pay attention to the professor. When caught staring by a friend there would be snickers and jokes tossed around before a teacher came by to shut them up. "Miss Anesidora, is there anything you would like to add before you are sorted?" The caring tone in her voice comforted her, and she knew that the extra kindness in her tone would only have been noticeable to a few people in the room, Anesidora being one of those. "No, Professor, I do not. But may I kindly ask that you be the one to tell them my secret when the time comes? While I do not fear from anyone knowing, I do not believe I could handle saying it myself right now." She kindly asked the headmistress, now being close enough to whisper so only she could hear. "Very well," she whispered back before addressing the students again. "Miss Nyx has decided not to relinquish her secret to all of you yet, as it is very personal and I'm certain many of you would not understand. But I do warn you all that I still will not tolerate any... Shenanigans... Inside of Hogwarts, and that especially applies to Miss Nyx while she is here." "I wonder what's so special about her," Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione across the table. It was also their last year as students, and this new student had all of the boys in the room extra curious. "Maybe you should shut up and listen before none of us hear it," Hermione snapped back at them. She may have turned him down after the war had ended, but she still harbored feelings for him and didn't appreciate him having interests in other girls. More so because he was back to dating Lavender again. "Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist," he whispered back at her. "Now, Anesidora, would you mind sitting so that we may sort you and let you take a seat at your respected table?" The headmistress asked her politely. Anesidora nodded her head before removing the hat that she was wearing. Her silky straight hair tumbled out, reaching her waist as her bangs smoothly fell back into place on her forehead. She slowly took three steps forward to the stool with what she guessed was the famous sorting hat sitting on it. McGonagall lifted the hat and Anesidora sat down, careful to keep her skirt in place as not to give anyone a free show. The headmistress carefully placed the hat on her head, and immediately it started talking to her. "My, my, my, aren't you familiar. I remember sorting a certain ancestor of yours some many years ago." Anesidora inhaled sharply at that statement, realizing that it knew exactly who she was. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Now, to the task at hand. You would fit very well in Ravenclaw, your intellect would certainly make you many friends there." It continued to talk with her about her choices as every other student looked on, oblivious to the conversation happening. Everyone but Harry. He knew that look very well. He could recognize the same nervousness on her face that he was sure was visible on his own when he was first sorted. "I don't know what her secret is, but she looks just as troubled as I was," he whispered to his friends. Both of them turned to stare at him in surprise, then looked back at the girl sitting on the stool. They both nodded in agreement when they saw the same look on her face. "Now, where do you think I should place you? I leave the decision to you, as you are a special case," the hat reasoned with her. It had spent the past few minutes talking to her about the four houses as everyone in the room watched, growing impatient. Many of the students wanted her to be sorted into their house, whether it be for lustful reasons or selfish ones to learn her secret before anyone else could. "Place me where you think I would fit best, I have no issues with any of the houses," she whispered to the hat as she shifted uneasily in her seat. The stool was beginning to become uncomfortable, as were the stares of the other students. "Slytherin!" Shouted the hat at last, and the room erupted into a symphony of claps, hoots, and boos, all scattered around the room. Anesidora stood up and smiled proudly at herself. She turned her head to face the headmistress, who only nodded in the direction of the Slytherin table while hiding her uneasiness behind a fake smile. Anesidora didn't notice, though, and as she strode over to the table with her head held high she smiled even brighter as the room was again filled with gasps. Anesidora had noted her house colors, and in a moment had altered the appearance of her hair to match. She saw her fellow Slytherins cheer for her even more, quickly becoming happy with her display of pride. She was sure that this would help her make at least a few friends, but that also made her anxious. As she approached the table Malfoy made a split second decision, then stood and yelled "Nyx! Join us over here!" and sat back down and watched as she changed her course and started to walk over. "Make room, Crabbe!" he hissed under his breath before she could reach them. "This girl is odd, and I find that secret of hers to be very interesting. It must be juicy for her to be openly hiding something," he explained to those closest to him. Anesidora wasn't surprised that someone had requested for her to sit near them, she was a new student after all. She sat down when she reached the boy that had yelled her name. He had platinum blonde hair that fell just below his chin in the front, but was a mixture of varying short layers in the back. She didn't comment when she noticed he made the boy next to him move, but instead gave him a polite nod as she sat down in what was previously his seat. "You must be a Malfoy," she said to the one that had called her. "Oh really? What would make you think that?" He asked her, truthfully curious about her reasoning, but to anyone else it would sound sarcastic. She didn't respond to his sarcasm, instead she gave him a small smile. "You look just like any other Malfoy I've seen, and judging by your age you would be Draco." She said this matter-of-factly, as if it would be obvious to anyone seeing him for the first time. "Yes, I know, how could someone hidden away from the world possibly know that," she interrupted when she saw the confused and startled look on his face before he could mask it with a smirk. "My mentor had me study pureblood families as well as muggleborn families in an attempt to teach me that there is no difference between the two." She meant to explain this calmly, but it came out as a rushed explanation when she noticed the faces of disgust coming from her table mates, as well as the cold calculating eyes staring at her from various places of the table. "And what, exactly, did you determine?" Draco calmly asked her, the smirk still on his face and now more prominent than before. She could feel the stares of her new housemates as she stared down at her hands, now sitting in her lap as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "I have yet to decide, my lesson wasn't finished before I was sent here," she quietly told them. That seemed to be enough of an answer for now, as everyone had gone back to eating their food, stealing glances at her when they thought she wasn't looking. Conversation in the great hall had gone back to normal for a short time while everyone got caught up on what they did over the summer. Anesidora listened carefully while she ate her food, secretly studying her classmates while they conversed. "So, are you a muggleborn then? Or are you a from an unheard of family of purebloods?" Draco had turned his attention to her yet again, this time getting closer to her as to make it seem more private. His face was so close to hers that it made her blush as she felt his breath on her cheek. Even though he was close enough to be heard even at a hushed whisper, he hadn't made any attempt to make his words quiet, and anyone within hearing distance was now staring at her again. Anesidora slowly lifted her head to meet the gazes of the students staring at her, some with harmless curiosity and some with a darker glint to their expressions. She turned her head to stare into Malfoy's eyes ready with a response, but became speechless when she finally met his gaze. They're such a cloudy grey, almost like a storm at sea. Damn, I could get lost in that storm for days, she thought to herself. She was snapped out of her thought by his voice yet again, "Well? Which is it?" She could clearly hear the malice in his voice now, as he had taken her silence for an answer he didn't want to hear. "Pureblood," she answered, defiantly squaring her shoulders and matching his malicious tone with one of her own. She knew he would be a problem for her in the months to come, but at the same time she thought to herself that maybe he could be a person to also help her with a problem she already had. "Good to know," Draco stated with no emotion in his voice whatsoever, a stark contrast to the tone in it just moments before. With this, he turned back to his food, and everyone else followed when they realized the discussion was over and there would not be further talk about her. Anesidora looked at the other tables as she ate. Some students were still studying her, trying to judge what kind of person she would be. She could see the skeptical expressions on some of their faces, and she could guess it was because of the boy sitting next to her as well as the reputation of the house she had been placed in. When her eyes finally wandered over to the Grifyndor table she met a pair of hazel orbs staring right back at her. 


End file.
